Method and system for processing and transmitting electronic auction information

ABSTRACT

A system and method for conducting a multi-person, interactive auction, in a variety of formats, without using a human auctioneer to conduct the auction. The system is preferably implemented in software. The system allows a group of bidders to interactively place bids over a computer or communications network. Those bids are recorded by the system and the bidders are updated with the current auction status information. When appropriate, the system closes the auction from further bidding and notifies the winning bidders and losers as to the auction outcome.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to electronic commerce and moreparticularly to conducting an interactive auction over an electronicnetwork.

2. Description of the Related Art

Auctions usually take the form of a physical gathering of biddersassembled together within an auction house. Auctions presenting morevaluable, collectible merchandise, such as art, coins and antiques, areoften preceded by preparation of a catalog of merchandise, circulated tointerested parties in advance of the gathering at the auction house,where bidding by those physically present will take place. For auctionsof more mundane items, such as household possessions, estate sales andthe like, the interested bidders simply appear at the appointed time andplace and bid on merchandise in which they are interested.

Traditional auctions requiring a bidder's physical presencedisadvantageously require that the merchandise lots up for sale beavailable at the auction venue for inspection by the bidders andsubsequent pickup by the successful bidders. For many types ofmerchandise it would be far easier for both buyer and seller to leavethe inventory at its original source and ship purchased items to thesuccessful bidders at the end of the auction. Moreover, physicalauctions have the still further disadvantage that only one item may beauctioned at a time. The auctioneer solicits bids from the floor for agiven lot, but once the highest bid has been accepted, the lot is closedand the next lot brought forward. This sequential processing combinedwith the finite amount of time available to a gathered group isinherently limiting because multiple lots cannot be auctionedsimultaneously to the same group of people during their limited periodof availability.

Some changes in bidding requirements have made traditional auctionssomewhat more convenient for bidders. Many auction firms allow biddersto submit their bids in advance of the auction. Advance bidding may bedone by mail as a convenience to the bidders so that they do not have tobe physically present at the auction. Also, the advent of the telephoneand facsimile machine allowed bidders to submit bids in near real-timeduring the course of an auction. These technologies free the bidder frombeing physically present at the auction, thereby saving time and travelexpense. To incorporate these technologies into the traditional auctionformat, representatives of the auction firm receive telephone orfacsimile bids from their clients and alert the auctioneer of these newbids. Similarly, the representatives may relay information about thecurrent bid items, such as the current high bid, back to the telephonebidders.

Bidding by mail or facsimile suffers a significant disadvantage ascompared to bidding in person or by telephone because the mailing orfaxing bidder has no opportunity to increase a bid in quick response tocompetitive bids received from the floor or by telephone. Moreover,although telephone bidding allows the bidder to avoid travel expense andinconvenience, traditional auctions may be scheduled at inconvenienttimes for many remote bidders. Also, because of the large number ofitems or lots sold in a typical auction, which can number in the eighthour period in order to be present when the few lots in which the bidderhas an interest come up for sale. The lots in which the telephone bidderis interested may be scattered throughout the lengthy traditionalauction. Time zone differences further diminish the appeal of telephonebidding for an international potential customer base.

All of these limitations and disadvantages of physical auctions, evenwhen telephone bidding or bidding by facsimile is permitted, serve todiscourage a large number of bidders and ultimately leads to lowerselling prices to the economic detriment of the auctioneer and seller.

Electronic auctions held over the Internet using electronic mail(E-mail) have provided a minor innovation as compared to moretraditional physical options. In E-mail auctions, an auction catalog iselectronically mailed to people interested in bidding. Subsequently,bidders submit their bids on individual lots to an auctioneer viaE-mail. The auctioneer reads the electronic mail bids and enters them ina database of bids. When the auction closes, the auctioneer notifies thewinning bidders, usually via electronic mail, and ships the merchandiseto the winning bidders.

There are several disadvantages to E-mail auctions. First, a humanauctioneer is required to prepare the auction catalog and to read andprocess the electronic mail bids. This takes a considerable amount ofeffort in a large auction. Secondly, it is difficult to keep the biddersupdated as to the current high bids on the various items. Electronicmail on most large public networks, such as the Internet, is lowerpriority traffic than most, meaning it can take several hours for bidsto reach the auctioneer and for bidding updates to reach the bidders.Thirdly, as the auction closing draws near, the volume of bids mayprohibit the auctioneer from sending out high bid information to thebidders because of the time involved in reading the electronic mail bidsand in entering them into the bid database.

A recent innovation applied to E-mail auctions is the use of theInternet's World Wide Web (WWW) facility to post descriptions of themerchandise and show the current high bids. This innovation provides theadvantage of eliminating the need to electronically mail bidding updatesto bidders. And since WWW traffic is much higher priority on theInternet, bidders suffer less of a time lag in seeing updated Web pages.However, a human auctioneer is still involved and is required tomanually process the electronic mail bids, enter them into the biddatabase, and to update the World Wide Web pages with current high bidinformation.

Sales firms other than auction houses have also used the Internet'sWorld Wide Web facility to post descriptions of their merchandise and tooffer the merchandise for sale at a set price. These systems areautomated and are capable of accepting an order from a customer byhaving that customer fill out an online order form. This orderinformation is taken by the system and placed into an order database oraccounting system which then processes the order. However, such systemssell merchandise only at a fixed price and do not allow merchandise tobe auctioned off, or to have their prices dynamically adjusted in aninteractive manner in response to bids and other market conditions suchas supply and demand.

Security brokerage firms for years have used automated transactionsystems for matching buy and sell orders for securities. For example,the New York Stock Exchange's DOTS (Direct Order Transmission System)and the NASDAQ's SOES (Small Order Execution System) systems offercomplete electronic matching of buyers and sellers. However, thesesystems do not operate an auction. They merely pair buy orders with sellorders when the pricing criteria of both sides of the trade are met.

A number of issued U.S. patents relate to various forms of electroniccommerce. These patents fall into three broad categories: 1) patentsrelating to on-line networks, 2) patents relating to electronic commerceover on-line networks, and 3) patents related to various forms ofsecurities (e.g., stocks and futures) trading via electronic means. Fromthe first of these groups, on-line networks, U.S. Pat. No. 5,406,475entitled Data Processing Network Having A Plurality Of IndependentSubscribers, U.S. Pat. No. 5,235,680 entitled Apparatus And Method ForCommunicating Textual And Image Information Between A Host Computer AndA Remote Display Terminal, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,310,997 entitledAutomated Order And Delivery System, are representative of the priorart. These patents describe systems of terminals connected over widearea networks to centralized computers. However, they do not disclosethe details of electronic commerce or auctions in particular.

In the second group, patents relating to electronic commerce, U.S. Pat.No. 5,285,383 entitled Method For Carrying Out Transactions UsingElectronic Title, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,297,031 entitled Method AndApparatus For Order Management By Market Brokers, describe various meansfor conducting transactions over electronic communications networks.They also describe various means for displaying merchandise for sale toa plurality of customers connected to a central computer of a computernetwork and various means for conducting simple sale transactions wherea buyer purchases an item at the stated price. As a group, these patentsdo not disclose the means for conducting electronic auctions or anysales format other than a simple or “straight” sale.

One particular U.S. Pat. No. 4,789,928, discloses a means for solicitingbids over an electronic network from bidders that are remote to the siteof a live auction. This system records bids from remote bidders andsimultaneously transmits the current high bid from the floor of thephysical auction to the terminals of the remote bidders. However, thispatent does not disclose or suggest the concept of an electronicallyconducted auction including a means for automatically closing theauction under certain conditions and without benefit of a live humanauctioneer. Furthermore, this patent fails to disclose or suggest ameans for auctioning a plurality of items simultaneously; rather, thedisclosed system is strictly tied to the sequential proceedings of aphysical auction. Finally, this system contemplates only a simple“highest bidder” auction where a single lot goes to an individual highbidder. This system cannot handle a lot available for auction whichincludes a plurality of items and where a plurality of winning bidderssufficient to match the plurality of auctioned items exists.

In the third group of patents related to electronic commerce, patentsrelating to securities trading, U.S. Pat. No. 4,412,287 entitledAutomated Stock Exchange, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,077,665 entitledDistributed Matching System, disclose means for prospective buyers topost offers to buy a given security at a specific price and forprospective sellers to post offers to sell a given security at aspecific price. These automated systems maintain lists of buy and sellorders. If an offer to buy a security is placed at a price greater thanor equal to an existing offer to sell that security at a given price,these systems will automatically consummate the trade by matching thebuyer with the seller. While the securities industry uses, and thesepatents disclose, such terms as “auction” and “bid”, they are actuallyreferring to the process of matching a set of buyers' bids with a set ofsellers' prices. There is no auction in the true sense of a plurality ofbidders simultaneously bidding in a manner accessible to all bidders andsellers in order to achieve a high selling price. In fact, thesepatented systems do not include disclosure of the list of open buy orsell orders, thus depriving the seller of the ability to openly solicitthe highest price for securities. Instead, the market price ofsecurities sold through these automated systems fluctuates up and downbased upon the last successful match between an open buy order and anopen sell order when both the buyer and seller have placed orders atcompatible prices. There is no ability in such systems to conduct trulycompetitive and open bidding.

The present invention overcomes the above-listed drawbacks of thebackground art by providing a method and system for conducting auctionsand mark down sales of merchandise over a computer network without theaid of a human auctioneer. The system is open to bidders anywhere in theworld, leading to increased bid activity. Complete and thoroughdescriptions of all offered merchandise may be placed on-line, since thecosts associated with printing auction catalogs are minimized in anelectronic medium. An auction within the inventive system may beconducted over a period of time, mitigating the problems of inconvenientscheduling and time zone differences. A variety of auction formats canbe employed within the inventive system depending on the type ofmerchandise being sold. And finally, the method and system of thepresent invention can be conducted automatically without the need for ahuman auctioneer, thereby allowing for a large number of items to becontinuously auctioned.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To address the shortcomings of the background art, the present inventionprovides, in a computer network enabling communication between a hostcomputer and a plurality of remote bidders, a system and method fortransmitting and processing auction information implemented as acomputer program within the host and network, comprising posting meansfor posting information across the network, the information beingdescriptive of a lot available for purchase, bidding means available tothe bidders for submitting a plurality of bids across the network inresponse to the information, receiving means for receiving a pluralityof bids sent across the network by the plurality of bidders, andcategorizing means for automatically categorizing the bids as successfulor unsuccessful.

A primary advantage of this system is that it results in greater pricesfor merchants as well as broader distribution of their products. Byincorporating an auction format which is available to a wide audiencevia electronic means, the inventive system and method results in morebidders, greater demand, and hence higher prices for the seller. Andbecause this electronic system reaches a geographically diverseaudience, merchants' product lines become visible in areas where theirproducts are not normally distributed or advertised, resulting inincreased sales volume without increased marketing expense. As thenetwork grows, business grows. Furthermore, the electronic auctionsystem is automatic and does not require a human auctioneer, therebyallowing many individual items to be auctioned during the same timeperiod and providing a decrease in costs associated with running anauction. Indeed, it would not be possible to operate an equivalenttwenty-four hour per day, seven day per week auction with potentiallyhundreds or even thousands of individual items and millions of potentialbidders without such an inventive electronic auction method and system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The aforementioned advantages of the invention, as well as additionaladvantages thereof, will be more fully understood as a result of adetailed description of a preferred embodiment when taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a preferred computer environment for implementing thesystem and method of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a merchandise catalog page offering an item for salevia electronic auction on the Internet's World Wide Web;

FIG. 3 depicts a bid form for bidding on an auction item;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of components illustrating a preferredembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the bid validator and its method ofoperation;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the auction manager and its method ofoperation;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating the bid manager and its method ofoperation;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating the electronic mail messenger and itsmethod of operation;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating the standard auction format and itsmethod of operation;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating the Dutch auction format and itsmethod of operation;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating the progressive auction format andits method of operation;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating the buy or bid sale format and itsmethod of operation;

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating bid quantity determination and itsmethod of operation; and

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating the markdown price adjustmentfeature of the present invention and its method of operation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

An inventive method and system is disclosed for conducting amulti-bidder, interactive auction without using a human auctioneer toconduct the auction. Preferably implemented in software, the electronicauction system allows a group of bidders to interactively place bidsover a computer or communications network, automatically records thebids, updates the bidders with the current auction status information,closes the auction from further bidding when appropriate, and notifiesthe winning bidder or bidders and loser or losers as to the auctionoutcome.

The inventive system includes a database for maintaining descriptions ofthe merchandise for auction, the bids, and other relevant information ina commercially available database system. Database searches arepreferably performed periodically to check for new items to be madevisible to potential bidders. Such periodic searching allows anindividual charged with maintaining this system to load relevantinformation into the database at his or her leisure. Once the databaseis loaded with information about the item and the item is scheduled forpresentation to potential bidders, the system takes the merchandiseinformation and creates a human readable catalog page for a viewing overa public network such as the Internet's World Wide Web. Bidders are thenable to view the new item for auction and to place their bids. Thesecatalog pages preferably contain the current high bid, bid increment,quantity available, merchandise description, and picture of the item.

Upon accessing a public network and seeing an item's catalog page, thebidder may press a button on the catalog page or take some similaraction which causes a bid form to be displayed on the screen. The bidderthen enters the information necessary to place a bid, such as their nameand address, bid amount, payment information, etc., and then presses abid submission button, or takes a similar action which sends the bid tothe system.

The system receives the electronic bid information and places it in thebid database. Because this new bid will, in general, be a bid for ahigher amount than was last bid by another party, the system willregenerate the item's catalog page. This updated catalog page will thenshow the new high bid to any prospective bidders who later access thatcatalog page.

Because most bidders will not, in general, be accessing the network andviewing the merchandise catalog pages as they are updated with new highbids, the system may send electronic mail notifications to bidders whohave been outbid by the just-placed bid. These electronic mailnotification messages preferably contain the relevant merchandiseinformation, the current high bid, the bid increment, etc., andencourage the bidder to submit a new and higher bid to outbid thecurrent high bidder. These electronic mail notification messages allowthe bidder to enter a new bid by replying to the electronic mail messageand sending it back to the system.

Upon receiving a new or revised bid via electronic mail, the systemfollows the same set of actions as when the bidder places a bid usingthe electronic bid form when viewing a merchandise catalog page, namely,the system extracts the relevant bid information from the electronicmail message, deposits this information in the bid database, and thenupdates the merchandise catalog page as appropriate. Such an electronicmail message bid may further cause a new round of electronic mailnotifications to go out to the recently outbid bidders.

This process preferably continues until the system detects that the itemis scheduled to be closed for further bidding or another closing triggeris detected. At this point, the system closes the auction by updatingthe merchandise catalog page with the final winning bid information andby sending electronic mail notifications to both the winning bidder orbidders and the losing bidder or bidders.

The present invention provides an electronic auction method and systemfor presenting merchandise for sale at auction to customers over anelectronic network, such as the Internet's World Wide Web. Potentialcustomers are presented with a series of descriptive merchandise catalogpages through which they may navigate to find items (lots) of interest.Upon finding a lot of interest, customers may click a button on screento display a form for placing a bid on the lot. After submitting thisbid, the electronic auction system records the bid and updates the lot'smerchandise catalog page to show the current high bid or bids and towhom such bids are attributable. When the auction is closed, after aperiod of no bidding activity, at a predetermined time, or when adesired sales volume is reached, the electronic auction system notifiesthe winning and losing bidders by electronic mail and posts a list ofthe winning bidders on the closed lot's merchandise catalog page.

The present invention is preferably implemented as a computer program248 running on a central server host computer 250, shown in FIG. 1,attached to a wide area network 275 accessible by many potentialcustomers through remote terminals 210. A preferred network forimplementing the present invention is the Internet which is accessibleby a significant percentage of the world population, although thenetwork may also be a local area or limited area accessible network.Potential customers are presented at screen 280 with merchandise catalogpages, such as the one shown in FIG. 2, generated by merchandise catalogpage generator 25 shown in FIG. 4. Each merchandise catalog pageincludes several action buttons 5 that allow the customer to move fromcatalog page to catalog page and to place bids using keyboard 240 andpointing device 260. The user may call up an index of availablemerchandise by pressing button 7 or may return to a central home page bypressing button 9.

By pressing bid button 1 in FIG. 2, the customer is presented with a bidform such as the one shown in FIG. 3. The customer fills out therequired information in the bid form and presses “Place Bid” button 2 tosend the bid to the electronic auction system for processing. Otherequivalent means for submitting a bid could be used, as understood bythose skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains.

FIG. 4 illustrates a high level block diagram of the electronic auctionsystem of the present invention. As shown, information from bid form 20is received by the electronic auction system where it is processed bybid validator 21. Bid validator 21 examines the bid information enteredby the customer on bid form 20 to ensure that the bid is properlyformatted, all necessary data is present, and the data values enteredlook credible. Exemplary functions of bid validator 21 include verifyingcredit card information entered by the customer, checking that acomplete name and shipping address has been entered, that the properstate abbreviation and zip code have been entered, that an appropriatebid amount has been entered, and that a telephone or facsimile numberhas been entered. Once the bid information has been validated, the bidvalidator 21 places the bid in bid database 31.

Auction manager 26 preferably frequently queries the bid database 31 tosee if any new bids have been placed. If new bids are found during thequery, then auction manager 26 calculates the current high bidder orbidders and instructs merchandise catalog page generator 25 toregenerate a catalog page with the updated bid information.

Auction manager 26 is also responsible for opening and closing auctions.This entails making merchandise lots available for bidding by customersand disabling their associated buy or bid features on the merchandisepages that have been posted to potential bidders but have closed. Whenauction manager 26 determines that a new lot should be opened forbidding or an available lot should be closed, it instructs merchandisecatalog page generator 25 to create or update the merchandise catalogpages for the appropriate lots.

Electronic mail messenger 27 frequently queries bid database 31 for bidsrecently marked by auction manager 26 as having been outbid or as havingwon an item in a recently closed auction. If such bids are found, theelectronic mail messenger 27 formats an appropriate electronic mailnotification message 24 and sends this message to the customer. Manycustomers read their electronic mail throughout the day, making this aconvenient mechanism for keeping them informed about the status ofmerchandise on which they are actively bidding. Bidders may reply to anelectronic mail notification message 24 informing them that they havebeen outbid by including an increased bid amount in the reply message.An electronic mail bid 22 sent in reply to the notification is receivedby the electronic auction system and processed by bid validator 21 asdescribed above.

FIG. 5 illustrates in detail the procedure of bid validation asaccomplished by bid validator 21 shown in FIG. 4. A bid is received bybid validator 21 and the customer is looked up at step 41 in customerdatabase 28. If no customer record exists for the customer then a newcustomer record is created 42 and placed in customer database 28. Fromthere, the bid information is validated 43 as previously described. Ifthe bid data includes one or more errors, then an error message isreturned 44 to the bidder, preferably in the form of a well-formattedpage posted across the network, itemizing the errors found in the bid.If the bid is valid, as found in step 43, then the bid is placed 46 inbid database 31.

FIG. 6 provides a detailed illustration of the procedures carried out byauction manager 26. Auction manager 26 is preferably a continuouslyrunning system that begins by getting the current time as at step 51. Itthen checks to see if any new items for sale are to be opened byexamining the merchandise database to see if any new merchandise itemsare scheduled to be made available for bidding by customers at or beforethe current time. Operator 300, or some automated substitute, may uploadmerchandise and scheduling information to the database, as shown in FIG.1. If new merchandise items are scheduled for posting, these items areopened for bidding 52. The auction manager then examines the merchandisedatabase to see if any merchandise items are scheduled to be closed fromcustomer bidding. If so, these items are closed from bidding 53. Auctionmanager 26 then examines the merchandise database to see if anymerchandise items posted with a price markdown feature are scheduled tohave their prices adjusted. If so, the prices of these items areadjusted 54 in accordance with the particular item's price adjustmentparameters. Such parameters may include bidding activity over time,amount of bids received, and number of items bid for. Auction manager 26then updates 55 the bid list for open items by recalculating the currenthigh bidder list and regenerating the merchandise catalog pages 56 toreflect these new bids. This step is more fully described below withreference to FIG. 7.

FIG. 7 illustrates the procedures carried out by the bid manager inupdating the bid list for open items 55 as shown in FIG. 6. The bidmanager begins by checking 61 if there are more merchandise items to beprocessed. If such items are found, the bid manager selects 62 amerchandise item to process and queries 64 the bid database for bids forthis item. These bids are sorted 65 using a variety of differentpriority ranking schemes depending upon the auction method and systemused for the particular merchandise item, as described in more detailbelow. Then, the bids are marked 66 as either successful or unsuccessfuldepending upon the bid price of the respective bids and the quantity ofthe item being bid on relative to the quantity of the item beingauctioned. In a preferred embodiment, a quantity of an item may be putup for auction, and individual bidders may bid on any quantity of theitem desired, up to the quantity of the item being auctioned.

The bid manager then checks 67 to see if there are any active proxy bidsmarked as unsuccessful. A proxy bid is a special bid type that allowsauction manager 26 to automatically bid on the bidder's behalf up to alimited amount established by the bidder when his or her initial bid isplaced. The auction manager will increase the bid as necessary up to thelimit amount. This feature allows the customer to get the lowestpossible price without exceeding a limit preferably established when thebid is entered. If there are active proxy bids marked as unsuccessful,then the bid manager increments 69 the proxy bids by a preset bidincrement. This procedure of sorting 65 marking 66 bids and incrementing69 the proxy bids as required continues until either there are noadditional proxy bids marked as unsuccessful or the proxy limits havebeen reached on the proxy bids. At this point, bid database 31 isupdated 68 with the marked bids. This process is then repeated for eachmerchandise lot open at the current time for bidding by customers.

FIG. 8 illustrates the procedures carried out by electronic mailmessenger 27 which notifies bidders when they have been outbid. Whenmarked bids are updated in bid database 31 as shown in FIG. 7,electronic mail messenger 27 detects 81 the presence of these markedbids and then looks up 82 the customer's electronic mail address andlooks up 83 inventory information on the item desired by the bidder.With this information, electronic mail messenger 27 constructs 84 anelectronic mail message informing the bidder that he or she has beenoutbid. Once constructed, the electronic mail notification message 24 issent to the bidder as shown at step 85.

One skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains willrecognize that the various components of the electronic auction systemcan communicate between themselves in a variety of ways. In a preferredembodiment, bid validator 21, auction manager 26, and electronic mailmessenger 27 communicate by adding, marking, and updating records in thevarious databases. Each of these components periodically checks at leastone of the databases to see if anything relevant to their respectivefunctions has changed and take action accordingly. However, thecomponents could send direct messages between themselves or call eachother by means of program subroutines to signal important events thatwould require one or the other component to update its state.

One skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains willfurther recognize that a variety of different auction formats may beimplemented using the basic technique described above. The simplest isthe “Standard Auction” format, whereby the electronic auction systemawards the merchandise to the top bidder or bidders in accordance withtheir bids once bidding has stopped. Using this format, if there is aplurality of a specific item, the system awards the merchandise to thetop bidders. Bidders may bid on more than one unit, and differentsuccessful bidders will, in general, pay different prices for an item.

FIG. 9 illustrates the Standard Auction format where bid manager 55,shown in FIG. 6, determines which bids to mark as successful orunsuccessful, as shown in step 66 in FIG. 7. Bid manager 55 begins bysorting 91 the bids by amount of the bid. If there are bids remaining tobe processed, determined at step 97, the highest remaining bid isselected 98 to be checked. If the bid is below the minimum bid allowedfor the particular merchandise item, as determined at step 93, the bidis marked 99 as unsuccessful. If not, the bid is checked 94 to see ifthe quantity may be satisfied. A bid may be satisfied if the quantity ofthe item bid upon is available. This information is available fromauction database 29. If not, then the bid is marked 99 as unsuccessful.Optionally, the system could ask the user if a lesser quantity than bidupon will be acceptable, as shown in FIG. 2 at box 310. If the bidquantity can be satisfied, as determined at step 94, then the bid ismarked 95 as successful and the item quantity remaining, recorded inauction database 29, is decremented 96 by the bid quantity. After thequantity remaining is decremented 96, and if, as determined at step 97,there are still bids remaining to be marked, the next highest bid isselected 98 and the steps of FIG. 9 are repeated.

The electronic auction system of the present invention also provides a“Dutch Auction” format, wherein the electronic auction system awards themerchandise to all of the top bidders for whom there is availableinventory at the price bid by the lowest successful bidder. This formatmay be preferred by customers for being the most fair when a pluralityof a specific item is being auctioned. As with all bidding, there willbe a range of bids submitted. In the Dutch Auction format, the highestbidders are awarded the merchandise but at the same price for allsuccessful bidders, the price bid by the lowest successful bidder.

FIG. 10 illustrates the Dutch Auction format whereby bid manager 55shown in FIG. 6 determines which bids to mark 66 as successful orunsuccessful, as shown in FIG. 7. Bid manager 55 begins by sorting 111the bids by amount of the bid. If there are bids remaining to beprocessed, as determined at step 97 the highest bid is selected 98 to bechecked. If the bid is below the minimum bid allowed for the particularmerchandise item, as determined at step 93, the bid is marked asunsuccessful 99. If not, the bid is checked 94 to see if the bidquantity may be satisfied. If the bid cannot be satisfied, then the bidis marked as unsuccessful at step 99. If the bid quantity can besatisfied, then the bid is marked as successful at step 95 and the itemquantity remaining is decremented 96 by the bid quantity. At this timethe MinWin price is recorded 117. The MinWin price is the price abovewhich a new bidder must bid in order to be successful in the DutchAuction format were the auction to close at that moment. The MinWinprice is, in general, the bid price of the lowest bid that is marked assuccessful. After recording the MinWin price at step 117, where thereare still bids remaining to be marked, as determined at step 97, thenext highest bid is selected 98 and the steps of FIG. 10 are repeated.

The electronic auction system of the present invention also includes a“Progressive Auction” format, wherein the electronic auction systemawards the merchandise to the top bidders based on price bid. As withthe Dutch Auction format, the highest price bids are awarded themerchandise up to the quantity available of the item being auctioned.However, unlike the Dutch Auction format, the system awards themerchandise to the successful bidders at different prices depending onthe quantity bid. In a preferred embodiment, a successful bidder for asingle unit of an item is awarded the item at the price of the lowestsuccessful bid for a single unit of the item. A successful bidder for ahigher quantity of the same item is awarded the item at the price of thelowest successful bid at that quantity or any lower quantity. Forexample, a successful bidder for a quantity of five would pay the lowestprice for any successful bid for quantity one through five of the item.The price paid for a given quantity is termed the “MinWin” price forthat quantity. The Progressive Auction format ensures that successfulbidders for a quantity of an item pay the lowest price paid by any othersuccessful bidder at that quantity level or below. Use of this formatleads to lower prices for those who successfully bid on largerquantities of an item, provides an impetus for volume buying, andtherefore leads to greater sales volume.

FIG. 11 illustrates the Progressive Auction format, wherein bid manager55 shown in FIG. 6 determines which bids to mark as successful orunsuccessful 66 as shown in FIG. 7. Bid manager 55 begins by sorting 131the bids by amount of the bid. If there are bids remaining to beprocessed, as determined at step 97, the highest bid is selected 98 tobe checked. If the bid is determined to be below the minimum bid allowedfor the particular merchandise item at step 93, the bid is marked asunsuccessful 99. If not, the bid is checked at step 94 to see if the bidquantity can be satisfied. If not, then the bid is marked 99 asunsuccessful. If the bid quantity is checked and found to be satisfiedat step 94, then the bid is marked as successful 95 and the itemquantity remaining is decremented 96 by the bid quantity. The MinWinprice is then recorded 137. The MinWin price is the price above which anew bidder must bid in order to be successful in the Progressive Auctionformat were the auction to close at that moment. The MinWin price is, ingeneral, the bid price of the lowest bid at the current bid quantity orlower that is marked as successful. After recording the MinWin price137, if there are still bids remaining to be marked, the next highestbid is selected 98 and the steps of FIG. 11 are repeated.

The electronic auction system also includes a “Buy Or Bid” formatwherein the electronic auction system awards merchandise to bidders whoplace bids at or above a posted selling price. The item remains for saleuntil the available quantity is purchased. Bids that are below theposted selling price are maintained in reserve by the system. If acertain sales volume is not achieved in a specified period of time, theelectronic auction system automatically reduces the price by apredetermined amount or a predetermined percentage of the price andupdates the merchandise catalog page accordingly. The lower price may beat or below some of the bids already in the bid database. If such bidsare present, they are then converted to orders and the quantityavailable is reduced accordingly. Similarly, if a certain sales volumeis exceeded in a specified period of time, the electronic auction systemautomatically increases the price by a set amount or by a set percentageof the price and updates the merchandise page accordingly. Theseautomatic price changes allow the seller to respond quickly to marketconditions while keeping the price of the merchandise as high aspossible to the sellers benefit.

FIG. 12 illustrates the Buy Or Bid format whereby bid manager 55, asshown in FIG. 6, determines which bids to mark as successful orunsuccessful 66, as shown in FIG. 7. Bid manager 55 begins by sorting151 the bids by amount. If there are bids remaining to be processed, asdetermined at step 97, the highest bid is selected 98 to be checked. Ifthe bid is below the current price of the merchandise item, asdetermined at 93, then the bid is marked 99 unsuccessful. If the bid isnot below the current price, as determined at 93, then the bid ischecked 94 to see if the bid quantity can be satisfied. If not, the bidis marked as unsuccessful 99. If the bid quantity can be satisfied, thenthe bid is converted into an order 155 at the current price of the itemand the item's quantity remaining is decremented 96. The bids remainingto be processed, as determined at 97, are then checked and the steps ofFIG. 11 are repeated. From time to time, the current price of themerchandise item may be raised or lowered either by manual input from anoperator 300 as shown in FIG. 1 or by automatically using the “markdown”feature described below with reference to FIG. 14.

FIG. 13 illustrates in more detail the step of determining if the bidquantity can be satisfied 94. If the bid quantity is determined to beless than the available quantity of the merchandise item at step 171,then the test is found satisfied at step 174. If not, then the bid ischecked at 172 to see if the bidder is willing to accept a reducedquantity. Preferably, when placing a bid, the bidder indicates itswillingness to accept a partial quantity in the event that aninsufficient quantity of the item is available to satisfy the bid ifsuccessful. If the bidder is found willing to accept a reduced quantityat 172, then the test is found satisfied at 174. If not, the test failsat 173 and the bid is marked as unsuccessful at, for example, 99 in FIG.9.

The electronic auction system also includes a “markdown” feature,wherein the electronic auction system of the present invention awardsmerchandise to buyers who place orders at the currently posted sellingprice. The item remains on sale until the available quantity ispurchased. If a certain sales volume is not achieved in a specifiedperiod of time, the electronic auction system automatically reduces theprice by a set amount or a set percentage and updates the merchandisecatalog page accordingly. This lower price encourages buyers to takeadvantage of the new price. If a certain sales volume is exceeded in aspecified period of time, the electronic auction system automaticallyincreases the price by a set amount or a set percentage and updates themerchandise page accordingly. These automatic price changes allow thesystem to respond to market conditions while keeping the prices of themerchandise as high as possible to the seller's benefit.

FIG. 14 illustrates the Markdown price adjustment feature wherebyauction manager 26, as shown in FIG. 4, periodically adjusts 54 thesales prices or minimum bid prices, of the merchandise items accordingto a predetermined schedule as shown in FIG. 6. If more merchandiseitems are found in the merchandise database at 181, a merchandise itemis selected 183 for Markdown. If a Markdown event has occurred for theitem, as determined at 184, the item's price is adjusted 185 accordingto the schedule preset for the individual item. Alternatively, theadjustment could be relative to prices offered for the merchandise. Themerchandise item is then updated 186 in the database with the new saleprice or minimum bid price. The steps of FIG. 14 are then repeated foreach successive merchandise item in the merchandise database.

The electronic auction system of the present invention preferablyincludes a “Proxy Bidding” feature that may be applied to any of theauction formats described above. FIG. 7 fully describes auction manager26 including the Proxy Bidding feature. When Proxy Bidding is employed,a bidder places a bid for the maximum amount they are willing to pay.The electronic auction system, however, only displays the amountnecessary to win the item up to the amount of the currently high proxybids of other bidders. Typically, the currently high bids display anamount that is one bidding increment above the second highest bid orbids, although a percentage above the second highest bids may be used aswell. When a new bidder places a bid that is above a currently displayedhigh bid, the proxy feature will, in general, cause the currently highbid to move up to an amount higher than the new bid, up to the maximumamount of the currently high bidder's proxy bid. Once a new bidderplaces a bid in excess of the currently high bidder's proxy bid, the newbid becomes the current high bid and the previous high bid becomes thesecond highest bid. This feature allows bidders to participate in theelectronic auction without revealing to the other bidders the extent towhich they are willing to increase their bids, while maintaining controlof their maximum bid without closely monitoring the bidding.Participation is engaged in automatically on the bidder's behalf by theinventive system. The feature guarantees proxy bidders the lowestpossible price up to a specified maximum without requiring frequentinquiries as to the state of the bidding.

One skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains willrecognize that a variety of different auction formats may be implementedin addition to those described above. One skilled in the art will alsorecognize that the electronic auction system of the present inventioncan employ a “Floating Closing Time” feature whereby the auction for aparticular item is automatically closed if no new bids are receivedwithin a predetermined time interval. This feature would typically beimplemented in a manner similar to that used to close auctions of olditems, as shown at step 53 in FIG. 6. This feature forces the biddingactivity to occur within a shorter amount of time than would otherwisebe achieved because bidders are aware that the item will automaticallyclose if no new bids have been received in a timely manner. Thus,bidders have an incentive to stay active in the bidding process to avoidclosure of an item before maximum, and most potentially winning, bidshave been entered. The Floating Closing Time feature also allows moreitems to be auctioned during a period of time since each item is closedonce bidding activity ceases; the bidding period is not protracted to anartificial length as is the case when an item closes at a preset dateand time. The Floating Closing Time feature of the present invention maybe employed either in conjunction with or independent of a fixed closingtime for an item. When employed in conjunction with a fixed closingtime, the auction is closed either when the preset fixed time period hasexpired for the item or when no bidding activity has occurred within apreset time interval. This forces the bidding to cease at a particulartime in case the bidding activity becomes artificially protracted.

A general description of the present invention as well as a preferredembodiment of the present invention has been set forth above. Thoseskilled in the art to which the present invention pertains willrecognize and be able to practice additional variations in the methodsand system described which fall within the teachings of this invention.For example, although a preferred embodiment of the present inventionchooses winning bids according to monetary amount included in the bid,preference for bids may also be determined according to time ofsubmission, quantity of merchandise bid for, total bid value, or someother combination of these characteristics. Accordingly, all suchmodifications and additions are deemed to be within the scope of theinvention which is to be limited only by the claims appended hereto.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer system for conducting auctions over a computer network, comprising: a posting means for posting on a computer merchandise information describing each lot of a plurality of lots that are available for bidding by a plurality of bidders, each lot including at least one item; an auction selection means for associating each lot of the plurality of lots with an auction format selected from a plurality of available auction formats; a bid receiving means for receiving a bid related to at least a portion of a lot of the plurality of lots; and a bid categorization means for automatically categorizing the received bid as successful or unsuccessful in accordance with the selected auction format for the lot.
 2. The computer system of claim 1, wherein an auction format of the plurality of auction formats comprises one selected from the group, comprising: Dutch auction, standard auction, progressive auction, and buy or bid auction.
 3. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the bid receiving means receives the bid for the lot from a bid form.
 4. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the posting means is adapted to receive a text message from a bidder of the plurality of bidders on a lot and post the message in association with the descriptive information for a lot of the plurality of lots.
 5. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the posting means is available to add a lot to the plurality of lots during an auction of another lot in the plurality of lots.
 6. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the bid receiving means receives bids for at least two lots that are simultaneously open for auction, the at least two lots having different associated auction formats, and wherein the bid categorization means automatically categorizes the received bids as successful or unsuccessful in accordance with the associated auction format for each lot.
 7. The computer system of claim 3, further comprising a bid form generating means for generating the bid form, wherein the bid form is accessible through the computer network by a bidder of the plurality of bidders for use in submitting a bid for at least a portion of a lot of the plurality of lots.
 8. A method for conducting auctions over a computer network, the method comprising the steps of: posting on a computer merchandise information describing each lot of a plurality of lots that are available for bidding by a plurality of bidders, each lot having at least one item; associating each lot of the plurality of lots with an auction format selected from a plurality of available auction formats; receiving a bid related to at least a portion of a lot of the plurality of lots; and automatically categorizing the received bid as successful or unsuccessful in accordance with the associated auction format for the lot.
 9. The method for conducting auctions in claim 8, wherein an auction format of the plurality of auction formats comprises one selected from the group, comprising: Dutch auction, standard auction, progressive auction, and buy or bid auction.
 10. The method for conducting auctions in claim 8, wherein the receiving step further comprises the step of receiving the bid for the lot through a bid form.
 11. The method for conducting auctions in claim 8, further comprising the step of receiving a text message from a bidder of the plurality of bidders and posting the message in association with the descriptive information for a lot of the plurality of lots.
 12. The method for conducting auctions in claim 8, further comprising the step of adding a lot to the plurality of lots during an auction of another lot of the plurality of lots.
 13. The method for conducting auctions in claim 8, the receiving a bid step further comprising the step of receiving bids on at least two lots that are simultaneously open for auction, the at least two lots having different associated auction formats, and the automatically categorizing step further comprising the step of automatically categorizing the received bids as successful or unsuccessful in accordance with the associated auction format for each lot.
 14. A computer-readable medium containing instructions for conducting auctions over a computer network through steps comprising: posting on a computer merchandise information describing each lot in a plurality of lots that are available for bidding by a plurality of bidders, each lot having at least one item; associating each lot of the plurality of lots with an auction format selected from a plurality of available auction formats; receiving a bid for at least a portion of a lot of the plurality of lots; and automatically categorizing the received bid as successful or unsuccessful in accordance with the associated auction format for the lot.
 15. The computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein an auction format of the plurality of auction formats comprises one selected from the group comprising: Dutch auction, standard auction, progressive auction, and buy or bid auction.
 16. The computer-readable medium in claim 14, wherein the instructions for the receiving step further comprises instructions for receiving the bid for the lot through a bid form.
 17. The computer-readable medium in claim 14, the instructions for the posting step further comprising instructions for receiving a text message from at least one of the plurality of bidders and posting the message in association with the descriptive information for a lot of the plurality of lots.
 18. The computer-readable medium in claim 14, the instructions further comprising instructions for adding a lot to the plurality of lots by posting information for that lot during an auction of another lot of the plurality of lots.
 19. The computer-readable medium in claim 14, the instructions for the receiving step further comprising instructions for receiving bids on at least two lots that are simultaneously open for auction, the at least two lots having different associated auction formats, and for the automatically categorizing step further comprising instructions for automatically categorizing the received bids as successful or unsuccessful in accordance with the associated auction format for each lot.
 20. A computer system for conducting auctions over a computer network, the computer system comprising: a merchandise posting mechanism configured to post merchandise information relevant to each lot of a plurality of lots that are available for bidding by a plurality of bidders; an auction selector configured to associate each lot of the plurality of lots with an auction format selected from a plurality of auction formats available for the auction selector; a bid receiver mechanism configured to receive a bid for at least a portion of a lot of the plurality of lots; and a bid categorizer configured to automatically categorize the bid successful or unsuccessful in accordance with the selected auction format for the lot.
 21. The computer system for conducting auctions in claim 20, wherein an auction format of the plurality of auction formats comprises one selected from the group comprising: Dutch auction, standard auction, progressive auction, and buy or bid auction.
 22. The computer system for conducting auctions in claim 20, wherein the bid receiver mechanism is configured to receive the bid through an electronic bid form.
 23. The computer system for conducting auctions in claim 20, wherein the merchandise posting mechanism is configured to receive a text message from a bidder of the plurality of bidders and to post the text message in association with the descriptive information for a lot of the plurality of lots.
 24. The computer system for conducting auctions in claim 20, wherein the merchandise posting mechanism is configured to be available to add a lot to the plurality of lots during an auction of another lot of the plurality of lots.
 25. The computer system for conducting auctions in claim 20, wherein the bid receiver mechanism is configured to receive bids on at least two lots that are simultaneously open for auction, at least two lots having different associated auction formats, and the bid categorizer is configured to automatically categorize the received bids as successful or unsuccessful in accordance with the associated auction format for each lot.
 26. A computer system for enabling a plurality of simultaneous auctions over a network, at least two auctions having different auction formats, the system comprising: posting means for posting on a computer merchandise information describing each lot of a plurality of lots that are simultaneously open for auction for bidding by a plurality of bidders, each lot having at least one item; an auction selection means for associating each lot of the plurality of lots with an auction format selected from a plurality of available auction formats; a bid receiving means for receiving bids for the plurality of lots that are simultaneously open for auction, wherein at least two lots of the plurality of lots have different associated auction formats; and a bid categorization means for automatically categorizing each bid received for a lot as successful or unsuccessful in accordance with the selected auction format for that lot.
 27. The computer system in claim 26, wherein an auction format of the plurality of auction formats comprises one selected from the group comprising: Dutch auction, standard auction, progressive auction, and buy or bid.
 28. The computer system in claim 26, wherein the bid receiving means receives the bid for the lot from a bid form.
 29. The computer system in claim 26, wherein the posting means is adapted to receive a text message from a bidder of the plurality of bidders and to post the message in association with the descriptive information of a lot of the plurality of lots.
 30. The computer system in claim 26, wherein the posting means is available to add a lot to the plurality of lots during an auction of another lot of the plurality of lots.
 31. The computer system in claim 26, wherein an auction selection means associates each lot of the plurality of lots with the auction format selected from the plurality of available auction formats.
 32. A method for conducting a plurality of auctions simultaneously over a computer network, at least two auctions of the plurality of auctions having different auction formats, the method comprising the steps of: posting on a computer merchandise information describing each lot of a plurality of lots that are available for bidding by a plurality of bidders, the plurality of lots being simultaneously open for auction, each lot including at least one item and having an associated auction format; receiving bids for the plurality of lots that are simultaneously open for auction, at least two of the lots of the plurality of lots having different associated auction formats; and automatically categorizing each bid received for a lot as successful or unsuccessful in accordance with the associated auction format associated for that lot.
 33. The method for conducting auctions in claim 32, wherein at least one auction format is selected from the group comprising: Dutch auction, standard auction, progressive auction, and buy or bid auction.
 34. The method for conducting auctions in claim 32, wherein the receiving step further comprises receiving a bid for a lot through a bid form.
 35. The method for conducting auctions in claim 32, wherein the posting step further comprising the step of receiving a text message from a bidder of the plurality of bidders and posting the message in association with the descriptive information for a lot of the plurality of lots.
 36. The method for conducting auctions in claim 32, further comprising adding a lot to the plurality of lots during an auction of another lot in the plurality of lots.
 37. The method for conducting auctions in claim 32, further comprising the step of assigning an auction format from a plurality of available auction formats to each lot of the plurality of lots.
 38. A computer readable medium having instructions for conducting a plurality of auctions simultaneously over a computer network, at least two auctions of the plurality of auctions having different auction formats, the instructions for: posting on a computer merchandise information describing each lot of a plurality of lots that are available for bidding by a plurality of bidders, each lot including at least one item and having an associated auction format; receiving bids on plural lots that are simultaneously open for auction, at least two lots of the plural lots having different associated auction formats; and automatically categorizing each bid received for a lot as successful or unsuccessful in accordance with the associated auction format for that lot.
 39. The computer readable medium in claim 38, wherein an auction format of the plurality of auction formats comprises one selected from the group comprising: Dutch auction, standard auction, progressive auction, and buy or bid auction.
 40. The computer readable medium in claim 38, wherein the instruction for receiving bids includes instructions for receiving a bid for a lot through a bid form.
 41. The computer readable medium in claim 38, further comprising instructions for receiving a text message from a bidder of the plurality of bidders on a lot of the plurality of lots and for posting the message in association with the descriptive information for that lot.
 42. The computer readable medium in claim 38, wherein the instructions further comprise instructions for adding a lot to the plurality of lots during an auction of another lot of the plurality of lots.
 43. The computer readable medium in claim 38, further comprising instructions assigning to each lot an auction format from a plurality of available auction formats.
 44. A system for conducting a plurality of auctions simultaneously over a computer network, at least two auctions having different auction formats, the system comprising: a merchandise posting mechanism configured to post on a computer merchandise information describing each lot of a plurality of lots that are simultaneously open for bidding by a plurality of bidders, each lot including at least one item; an auction selector configured to associate each lot of the plurality of lots with an auction format selected from a plurality of available auction formats; a bid receiver configured to receive bids for the plurality of lots that are simultaneously open, wherein at least two of the lots of the plurality of lots have different associated auction formats; and a bid categorizer configured to automatically categorize each bid received for a lot as successful or unsuccessful in accordance with the associated auction format for that lot.
 45. The system for conducting auctions in claim 44, wherein an auction format of the plurality of auction formats comprises one selected from the group comprising: Dutch auction, standard auction, progressive auction, and buy or bid auction.
 46. The system for conducting auctions in claim 44, wherein the bid receiver is configured to receive the bid for the lot from a bid form, the bid form being accessible across the computer network.
 47. The system for conducting auctions in claim 44, further comprising a text posting mechanism configured to receive a text message from bidder on a lot and to post the message in association with the descriptive information for that lot.
 48. The system for conducting auctions in claim 44, wherein the merchandise posting mechanism is configured to add a lot to the plurality of lots during an auction of another lot in the plurality of lots.
 49. The system for conducting auctions in claim 44, wherein the auction selector is configured to define a set of rules for an auction format to add to the plurality of available auction formats.
 50. A computer system for conducting an auction business over a computer network, the system comprising: a posting means for posting to a computerized merchandise catalog information that is accessible across the computer network, the information describing each lot in a plurality of lots that is available for auction, each lot including at least one item, the posting means available to add a lot for auction during an auction of another lot, wherein the information related to items in each lot is substantially continuously updated in the merchandise catalog as items in each lot are made available for auction; an auction selection means for associating each lot of the plurality of lots with an auction format selected from a plurality of auction formats; a bid receiving means for receiving a bid for at least a portion of a lot of the plurality of lots; a bid validation means for examining the bid; and a bid categorizing means for determining whether the bid is successful or unsuccessful.
 51. The computer system in claim 50, wherein an auction format of the plurality of auction formats comprises one selected from the group comprising: Dutch auction, standard auction, progressive auction, and buy or bid auction.
 52. The computer system in claim 50, wherein the bid receiving means receives the bid from a bid form.
 53. The computer system in claim 50, wherein the posting means is adapted to receive a text message from a bidder from the plurality of bidders on a lot and to post the message in association with the descriptive information for that lot.
 54. The computer system of claim 50, wherein the bid receiving means is for receiving bids on at least two lots that are simultaneously open for auction, the at least two lots having different associated auction formats, and wherein the bid categorizing means is for automatically categorizing the received bids as successful or unsuccessful in accordance with the associated auction format for each lot.
 55. A method for conducting an auction business over a computer network, the method comprising the steps of: posting on a computerized merchandise catalog information that is descriptive of a lot of a plurality of lots that is available for auction, each lot including at least one item; adding a lot to the plurality of lots by posting on the computerized merchandise catalog information that is descriptive of items in the added lot, wherein the information of the added lot is added to the merchandise catalog as at least a portion of a lot of the plurality of lots is made available for auction; associating each lot of the plurality of lots with an auction format selected from a plurality of auction formats; receiving a bid from a bidder for at least a portion of a lot of the plurality of lots; and determining whether the bid for the at least the portion of the lot is successful or unsuccessful.
 56. The method in claim 55, wherein an auction format of the plurality of auction formats comprises one selected from the group comprising: Dutch auction, standard auction, progressive auction, and buy or bid auction.
 57. The method in claim 55, wherein the step of receiving further comprises the step of receiving the bid from a bid form.
 58. The method in claim 55, further comprising the step of receiving a text message from a bidder on at least a portion of a lot and posting the message in association with the descriptive information for that lot.
 59. The method in claim 55, wherein the step of receiving further comprises receiving bids on at least two lots that are simultaneously open for auction, the at least two lots having different associated auction formats.
 60. The method in claim 59, wherein the step of determining further comprises the step of automatically categorizing the received bids as successful or unsuccessful in accordance with an associated auction format associated with each lot.
 61. A computer-readable medium containing instructions for controlling a computer to conduct an auction business over a computer network through the steps comprising: posting on a computerized merchandise catalog information that is descriptive of a lot of a plurality of lots that is available for auction, each lot having at least one item; either adding items to or deleting items from a lot of the plurality of lots that is available for auction and posted to the merchandise catalog during an auction of another lot of the plurality of lots, wherein information relating to an item in a lot is added to or deleted from the merchandise catalog as items in each lot are to be either made available for auction or no longer available for auction; receiving a bid for a portion of a lot from the plurality of lots from a bidder; instructions for receiving a text message from a bidder from the plurality of bidders on at least a portion of a lot and posting the message in association with the descriptive information for that lot; and, determining whether the received bid is successful or unsuccessful.
 62. The computer-readable medium in claim 61, further comprising instructions for associating each lot of the plurality of lots with an auction format selected from a plurality of auction formats so that at least two lots have different associated auction formats.
 63. The computer-readable medium in claim 62, wherein an auction format of the plurality of auction formats comprises one selected from the group comprising: Dutch auction, standard auction, progressive auction, and buy or bid auction.
 64. The computer-readable medium in claim 61, further comprising instructions for receiving the bid for the lot from a bid form.
 65. The computer-readable medium in claim 61, wherein the instructions for receiving further comprises instructions for receiving bids on at least two lots that are simultaneously open for auction, the at least two lots having different associated auction formats.
 66. The computer-readable medium in claim 65, wherein the instructions for determining further comprises instructions for automatically categorizing the received bids as successful or unsuccessful in accordance with the associated format for each lot.
 67. A system for conducting an auction business over a computer network, the system comprising: a merchandise posting mechanism configured to post merchandise information that is accessible from across the computer network, the information describing each lot in a plurality of lots that is available for auction, each lot including at least one item, the posting means available to add a lot for auction during an auction of another lot, the merchandise posting mechanism being configured to receive a text message from a bidder of the plurality of bidders on at least a portion of a lot and to post the message in association with the descriptive information for that lot; a bid receiver to receive a bid for at least a portion of a lot of the plurality of lots; a bid validator to examine the received bid and to store the bid in a bid database; and an auction manager that queries the bid database to automatically determine whether the bid is successful or unsuccessful.
 68. The computer system in claim 67, further comprising an auction selector to associate each lot of the plurality of lots with an auction format selected from a plurality of auction formats, at least two lots having different associated auction formats.
 69. The computer system in claim 68, wherein an auction format of the plurality of auction formats comprises one from the group comprising: Dutch auction, standard auction, progressive auction, and buy or bid auction.
 70. The computer system in claim 67, wherein the bid receiver receives the bid through a bid form.
 71. The computer system in claim 67, wherein the bid receiver receives bids on at least two lots that are simultaneously open for auction, the at least two lots having different associated auction formats.
 72. The computer system in claim 71, wherein the auction manager automatically categorizes the received bids as successful or unsuccessful in accordance with the selected auction format for each lot.
 73. A computer for conducting auctions over a computer network, the computer comprising: a posting means for posting on the computer merchandise information describing each lot in a plurality of lots that are available for bidding by a plurality of bidders, each lot including at least one item; a bid receiving means for receiving a bid for at least a portion of a lot of the plurality of lots; and a bid categorizing means for determining whether the received bid is successful or unsuccessful, wherein the posting means is adapted to receive a text message from a bidder of the plurality of bidders on the at least a portion of a lot and to post the message in association with the descriptive information for that lot.
 74. The computer in claim 73, further comprising an auction selection means for associating each lot of the plurality of lots with an auction format selected from a plurality of auction formats, at least two lots having different associated auction formats.
 75. The computer in claim 74, wherein an auction format of the plurality of auction formats comprises one selected from the group comprising: Dutch auction, standard auction, progressive auction, and buy or bid auction.
 76. The computer in claim 73, wherein the bid receiving means receives the bid from a bid form, the bid form being accessible over the computer network during the auction of the lot.
 77. The computer in claim 73, wherein the posting means is available to either add a lot to or delete a lot from the plurality of lots for auction during an auction of another lot of the plurality of lots.
 78. The computer of claim 73, wherein the bid receiving means receives bids on at least two lots that are simultaneously open for auction, the at least two lots having different associated auction formats, and wherein the bid categorizing means automatically categorizes the received bids as successful or unsuccessful in accordance with the associated auction format for each lot.
 79. The computer of claim 73, further comprising a bid validation means for examining the bid for the lot and for storing the bid for the lot in a bid database.
 80. A method for conducting auctions over a computer network, the method comprising the steps of: posting on a computer merchandise information describing each lot of a plurality of lots that are available for bidding by a plurality of bidders, each lot including at least one item; receiving a bid for at least a portion of a lot of the plurality of lots; and determining whether the received bid is successful or unsuccessful, wherein the step of posting on a computer includes the steps of, receiving a text message from a bidder of the plurality of bidders for at least a portion of a lot, and posting the text message in association with the descriptive information for that lot.
 81. The method in claim 80, further comprising associating each lot of the plurality of lots with an auction format selected from a plurality of auction formats.
 82. The method in claim 81, wherein an auction format of the plurality of auction formats comprises one selected from the group comprising: Dutch auction, standard auction, progressive auction, and buy or bid auction.
 83. The method in claim 80, wherein the step of receiving further comprises the step of receiving the bid for the lot from a bid form.
 84. The method in claim 80, further comprising the step of posting on the computer information for a new lot to the plurality of lots available for auction during an auction of another lot.
 85. The method in claim 84, wherein the step of determining further comprises the step of automatically categorizing the received bids as successful or unsuccessful in accordance with the associated auction format for each lot.
 86. The method in claim 80, wherein the step of receiving further comprises receiving bids on at least two lots that are simultaneously open for auction, the at least two lots having different associated auction formats.
 87. A computer-readable medium containing instructions for controlling a computer to conduct an auction over a computer network through the steps comprising: posting on a computerized merchandise catalog information describing each lot in a plurality of lots that are available for bidding by a plurality of bidders, each lot including at least one item; receiving a bid for at least a portion of a lot of the plurality of lots; determining whether the bid is successful or unsuccessful; receiving a text message from a bidder on a lot; and posting the message in association with the descriptive information for that lot.
 88. The computer-readable medium in claim 87, further comprising instructions for associating each lot of the plurality of lots with an auction format selected from a plurality of auction formats.
 89. The computer-readable medium in claim 88, wherein an auction format of the plurality of auction formats comprises one selected from the group comprising: Dutch auction, standard auction, progressive auction, and buy or bid auction.
 90. The computer-readable medium in claim 87, wherein the instructions for the step of receiving further comprises instructions for receiving the bid for the lot from a bid form.
 91. The computer-readable medium in claim 87, further comprising instructions for posting on the computer, during an auction of a lot, information for a new lot to add to the plurality of lots available for auction.
 92. The computer-readable medium in claim 87, wherein the instructions for the step of receiving further comprises instructions for receiving bids on at least two lots that are simultaneously open for auction, the at least two lots having different associated auction formats.
 93. The computer-readable medium in claim 92, wherein the instructions for the step of determining further comprises instructions for automatically categorizing the received bids as successful or unsuccessful in accordance with the associated auction format for each lot.
 94. A computer system for conducting auctions over a computer network, the system comprising: a computerized merchandise catalog configured to have merchandise description information that is accessible across the computer network, the information describing each lot of a plurality of lots that is available for auction through bidding by a plurality of bidders over the computer network, each lot including at least one item; a bid receiver configured to receive a bid for a lot of the plurality of lots; a bid validator configured to examine the bid for the lot and to store the bid for the lot in a bid database; and an auction manager configured to query the bid database to determine whether the bid for the lot is successful or unsuccessful, wherein the merchandise catalog is adapted to receive a text message from a bidder of the lot and to post the message in association with the information for that lot.
 95. The computer system in claim 94, further comprising an auction selector configured to associate each lot of the plurality of lots with an auction format selected from a database that includes a plurality of auction formats.
 96. The computer system in claim 95, wherein an auction format of the plurality of auction formats comprises one selected from the group comprising: Dutch auction, standard auction, progressive auction, and buy or bid auction.
 97. The computer system in claim 94, wherein the bid receiver is configured to receive the bid for the lot from a bid form.
 98. The computer system in claim 94, wherein the computerized merchandise catalog is configured to be available to add a lot to the plurality of lots during an auction of another lot.
 99. The computer system in claim 95, wherein the bid receiver is configured to receive bids on at least two lots that are simultaneously open for auction, the at least two lots having different associated auction formats.
 100. The computer system in claim 99, wherein the auction manager automatically categorizes the received bids as successful or unsuccessful in accordance with the associated auction format for each lot. 